Pakistan Army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, has strengthened the military’s control in the economic decision-making process and cracked down on the local civilian population to ensure access to the mining areas in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) region bordering Afghanistan, according to media reports.
The twin steps have been undertaken to lure US companies to invest in the region with the carrot of mining in critical minerals and hydrocarbons, highlighting interest in lithium and rare earth deposits in the KP and Gilgit-Baltistan regions. The Donald Trump administration appears to have fallen for Munir’s game plan as it looks for alternative sources for rare earth metals beyond China.
However, the increasing unrest in the region following another military crackdown in July, which is reported to have displaced close to 100,000 civilians in the Pashtun-speaking region, spells further trouble for any investments made in the region.
“Munir embarked on a project that fused military operations, refugee expulsions, and resource control into a single agenda. At its centre lies KP, which is rich in minerals and strategically positioned. It is also home to millions of Pashtuns and Afghan refugees who have become the collateral damage of a militarised development model increasingly shaped by international demand,” according to an article by journalist Uzay Bulut published in PJ Media.
“In July 2025, the army launched Operation Sarbakaf in Bajaur. The offensive imposed curfews on entire towns and displaced nearly 100,000 civilians within days. Women and children were among those killed in the shelling. The event fuelled local fears that such operations serve less to combat militancy than to depopulate districts earmarked for resource corridors,” the article states.
The escalation in trouble in KP comes on top of the unrest that is already sweeping through adjoining Balochistan and is expected to plunge Pakistan into deeper turmoil.
The sharp rise in violence targeting Chinese workers and infrastructure projects in Pakistan over the last three years appears to be an indicator of what US companies are headed for in the region. For General Munir, it is a way of getting more funds to run cash-strapped Pakistan, which is saddled by an economy that is on the brink of collapse.
